Showers diminishing, hot pattern ahead

The dust is settling across the area after getting pretty thick around the area, including here in Lubbock. There are a few showers out there right now, moving from SW to NE. There is a chance for some rain next few hours, mainly to the west and north of Lubbock. The wind will also die down in the coming hours.

updated 6:48 p.m.

Thunderstorms have moved from Eastern New Mexico to the NW South Plains. The main threat has been strong wind to around 60mph and near-zero visibility. It's possible the core of these storms will contain some hail, but wind is the main threat. These storms are moving NE. It's possible the strong wind will move through Lubbock, but the rain and storms are generally moving NE toward the Texas Panhandle.

THIS AFTERNOON: A few thunderstorms have fired up mid-afternoon around Roswell. We're watching for storm development in this area, then for storms to possibly move to our western communities. The Storm Prediction Center gives a 20 percent chance that a watch will be issued for Eastern New Mexico. The forecasters there mention that while a few severe storms are possible, the coverage will be limited.

Into this evening a few storms could move across the western South Plains, maybe as far east as Lubbock. While the chance is slight, if storms can get going they could contain some hail and produce strong wind. Low tonight near 70, mostly clear, wind SE/S 10-18 mph.

TOMORROW: It'll be pretty similar to today. Since we've had some good rain across most of the area it's pushed the finest bits of soil to the top. So it may not take much to get some more blowing dust, similar to this afternoon. Tomorrow's high in the mid 90s with a few clouds, gust S/SE wind at 12-25 mph. Once again there is a slight chance for thunderstorms over the western South Plains and Eastern New Mexico.

WEEKEND: The pattern doesn't change much. It'll be hot, dry, somewhat breezy each afternoon with the potential for storms across Eastern New Mexico. Each morning will be close to 70, each afternoon mid 90s.

NEXT WEEK: The upper-level ridge builds west across West Texas and New Mexico. This should shut off the chance for storms even across Eastern New Mexico. It'll get a few degrees hotter, edging closer to 100 by mid-week.

Have a great evening. I'll have a detailed look at the forecast and any storms tonight on the News at Nine. I'll have the next blog update tomorrow morning. And Go Spurs Go.-Matt